Putin Is Losing His Grip on the War And Reality.
Mobilization and Annexation Won’t solve his issues.
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Faced with more and more military setbacks, a deteriorating military situation, and growing unrest at home, shouldn’t Putin now be on his way to the negotiating table?
It would have been the rational thing. Cut losses and try to save some face with a settlement while he still could.
Turns out Putin is less rational than everyone thought.
Instead, he has taken the fateful decision to escalate the war into a total winner takes (Or loses) all confrontation determined to commit his country to absolute victory.
Even as the war looks less and less winnable for Russia, his words convey confidence that victory is just around the corner.
Putin is looking so disconnected from reality that I’m being reminded of that scene in Downfall.
The moment finally arrived.
On the 21 of September, Putin took the long-anticipated step of widening the scope of the war. Russia finally began a “partial” mobilization. It’s a move that has been dubbed the mogilizatsia In Russia, a pun using the Russian words for death and mobilization.
The word partial was used in the announcement, but in the decree, there is no limit to the men that could be called up.
Putin has said himself he expects to raise about three hundred thousand new troops. No small number for an economy that’s already struggling.
Local officials are trying to outdo one another all over the country by drafting men from all corners. How physically fit the men are doesn’t seem to be relevant. Which is why thousands were already sent home.
A double-edged sword.
Putin is playing a dangerous game. So far, he has let this war play out for most Russians in the shadows. Shielded from the horrors, most Russians could go about their business as usual.
Those with the guts to protest were contained and punished. Others that supported the war could do so in the safety of Russia, miles from the frontline horror of war.
